Date: 20000517
Docket: T-2180-98
BETWEEN:
DUMITRU DABU
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA
Respondent
Notice of application and application for leave to appeal the decision dated October 29, 1998, by the Honourable Huguette Pageau, Citizenship Judge, under subsection 14(5) of the Citizenship Act and rule 300(c) of the Federal Court Rules, 1998.
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
BLAIS J.
[1] During the hearing, the Court heard the arguments of both parties.
[2] However, after the respondent's record was filed, it came to light that the Citizenship Application Review Form, dated June 18, 1998, signed by the citizenship judge and bearing page number 6A, was not included in the record sent to the Federal Court on November 23, 1999.
[3] It seems that the Citizenship Court sent this document to counsel for the respondent, but not to the Federal Court or counsel for the applicant.
[4] In addition, an unsigned letter from the Canadian Citizenship Court to the applicant, dated July 2, 1998, requesting that the applicant provide the citizenship judge with a certain number of documents pertaining to offences under the Criminal Code, was sent to an address other than the applicant's address, which appears on the applicant's citizenship application and on all other documents filed by the applicant. Curiously, the Canadian Citizenship Court used an old address appearing on notices of judgment placed in the file of the citizenship judge.
[5] Consequently, the applicant was never informed of the contents of the letter of July 2, 1998, until his interview on September 28, 1998. By that time, the notice to appear had been sent to the correct address.
[6] The applicant could thus not be held responsible for the documents that were not provided.
[7] Refusing an application for citizenship on the ground that requested documents were not provided is an error that warrants intervention by this Court.
[8] As for the notice to appear, which bears number 7A in the record of the Canadian Citizenship Court, counsel for the respondent filed the copy of the notice that he himself received from the Canadian Citizenship Court, and that he filed in the respondent's record at Tab 2. The pagination has been changed, and a handwritten comment "accusation required" no longer appears on the same document which was filed at page 7A of the record of the Canadian Citizenship Court.
[9] I am very concerned to note that after counsel for the respondent requested a copy of the record of the Citizenship Court under rule 317, certain documents were altered for some unknown reason, and another document was simply not filed with the Federal Court.
[10] It is hard to believe that justice can be done in such circumstances.
[11] It seems important that the persons responsible for the administration of these records make sure that the record as constituted before the citizenship judge is provided to the Federal Court when an appeal is lodged with the Federal Court under subsection 14(5) of the Citizenship Act.
[12] The appeal is therefore allowed and the matter is referred back to the Canadian Citizenship Court for the applicant's citizenship application to be considered by another Canadian citizenship judge.
Pierre Blais
Judge
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
May 17, 2000
Certified true translation
Martine Brunet, LL.B.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT FILE No.: T-2180-98
| STYLE OF CAUSE: Dumitru Dabu v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada |
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: May 9, 2000
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER OF BLAIS J.
DATE: May 17, 2000
APPEARANCES:
Styliani Markaki FOR THE APPLICANT
| Sébastien Dasylva FOR THE RESPONDENT |
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Ebrahim, Macleod & Gervais FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
| Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT |
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Montréal, Quebec